• The plan will drive nature recovery across landscapes and support economic growth, house building and infrastructure development
- New approach positions Natural England as essential partner for economic growth
- More than 200 organisations have been engaged during the creation of the new strategy, which will encourage collaboration across society to halt the decline of nature
The role of nature recovery in driving economic growth is to be set out under new corporate strategy from Natural England published today (Thursday 6 November).
Healthy nature is the foundation of a strong and productive economy. This strategy, "Recovering Nature for Growth, Health and Security", reflects Natural England's ambition to build more diverse partnerships and enhance collaboration with different sectors to realise the opportunities that nature recovery holds for growth.
Investing in nature pays dividends. Healthy ecosystems play a vital role in our national security, economic growth and health and wellbeing. England's peatlands provide water filtration valued at up to £888 million per year. Green spaces provide £25.6 billion in welfare value annually through improved mental and physical health.
This new strategy clears a pathway to making nature-based solutions an integral part of how we build and invest for the future. It sets out how Natural England will support business to deliver its ambitions while growing nature. A key part of the strategy is a shift away from site-by-site species-by-species interventions and towards achieving nature recovery at scale across whole landscapes and seascapes.
Tony Juniper, Chair of Natural England, said:
"Nature provides the foundation stones of our growth, health and security. The threats facing nature today are also threats to our way of life.
"The scale of the challenge facing us means that we need to increase our ambition for nature recovery and change the way we have worked. Succeeding means thinking carefully about where and how to target our efforts so that we can do bigger and better, as well as promote collaboration on nature across society.
"We can grow the economy and meet the government's stretching legal environment targets - this strategy sets out a path to do just that."
Marian Spain, Chief Executive of Natural England, said:
"There is a huge positive opportunity at hand to unlock the power of Nature in pursuit of wider national priorities for growth health and security.
"We know this can be done because there are already many examples of this kind of strategic and broad-based approach seen up down the country, from the agricultural landscapes of Lincolnshire to the heathlands of Surrey and from internationally important wetlands in Dorset to the uplands of the Pennines, where diverse partnerships for Nature's recovery are bringing a wide range of benefits for people as well as wildlife.
"Time is short but as we are setting out today with ambition, partnership and collaboration we can turn the decline of Nature toward recovery"
This strategy will guide Natural England's action to help the Government to achieve its statutory nature targets, as well as the international commitment to protect 30% of land and sea by 2030
This new approach will focus on outcomes, not processes. The four outcomes are:
Recovering Nature - Restoring natural systems like rivers, wetlands, forests by tackle root causes of decline and prioritising large-scale recovery.
Building Better Places - Embedding nature into homes, infrastructure, and investment from the start to create greener, healthier, more investible places.
Improving Health and Wellbeing - Expanding access to green and blue spaces where people live and partners with health, education, and employment sectors to unlock the benefits of nature.
Delivering Security through Nature - Supporting nature-friendly farming, forestry, and fishing to supplying food, water, clean air, and improve climate resilience in the future.
These outcomes can be achieved through streamlined regulation, empowering local partners to take action on the ground. Natural England will also work to make nature-based solutions a part of early planning for new housing and infrastructure projects.
The strategy also highlights the importance of collaboration between public and private sectors to drive forward investment in nature from both public and private sources. This emphasis on collaboration is why Natural England engaged with more than 200 partners across business, local government and communities in creating the strategy.
This approach has already started to take shape, for instance in Natural England's role as the first ever Lead Environmental Regulator for the Lower Thames Crossing . In the future, tools like Environmental Delivery Plans included in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill will aid the effort to build 1.5 million homes needed while creating healthier, more nature-rich places
Natural England is the government's statutory adviser for the natural environment in England, working to conserve, enhance and manage the natural environment for present and future generations. The strategy publication comes ahead of a revised Environmental Improvement Plan, which will set out the government's commitment to protect and improve nature.
